Member

The noble Baroness, Lady Jones, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Norwich asked about what we are doing domestically on plastic; that is probably worthy of an entirely separate debate but, for today’s purposes, let me note the following. We are working with the devolved Governments to legislate for the ban on wet wipes containing plastic across the UK. From 1 June this year, the sale and supply of single-use vapes was banned across the UK. The deposit return scheme for single-use plastic and metal drinks containers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland will launch in October 2027; this will drive our efforts to stop litter filling up our streets, rivers and oceans. Additionally, the extended producer responsibility for packaging came into effect on 1 January 2025; it will move the full cost of dealing with household packaging waste away from local taxpayers and on to the packaging producers.